~ DO YOU HAVE FUN WHEN YOU SHOW HOUSES? ~
Showing houses can be tiring, both physically and mentally, especially when the buyer flip-flops on what their criteria is, or their location. We all try to narrow down the parameters before we put them in our car, But when they aren't sure of what they want or the area they want, as agents feel like a taxi showing them every house available. It is because of this uncertainty, the phrase, "Buyers are liars" has been used.
I know buying a house can be extremely stressful for buyers. That is why I try to make the entire process fun. When I put buyers in my car, I always go through a quick 'speech that goes something like this:
"I want to let you know that I have 3 licenses, besides my drivers license. As you already know, I have my real estate license, which allows me to help you purchase a home. But I must warn you, if either of the other 2 licenses are used, you are required to use my real estate license; you must buy a house from me." They usually ask what the other 2 licenses are. I reply with, "The second license is the license to get lost. And the 3rd license is to do a U-turn." That usually gets a chuckle.
I give them a print out of the houses we will be viewing in the order we will be going. I explain to them that we will be eliminating houses as we go, they need to be open with me on what they like and don't like. I remind them that I don't own any of the houses so I won't be offended. (I usually get another chuckle.)
I take notes as we go through the house, if anything stands out and the buyers make a comment, I will usually write the comments down. When we get back in the car, I will ask them to compare that house to the last house and ask them which one they prefer. Then I tell them to forget the house they didn't choose.
When we talk about the houses that we viewed, 
instead of saying, "oh, that was the house that had toys all over, I refer to it as the "Toy House." And so it goes. I have shown "The Day Care" - it looked like many children lived in the house, the "Cat House" - it smelled like a litter box. The "DYI House" - lots of home owner done projects poorly. The buyers try to come up with names for every house. It's a great way for them to remember each house.
I also like to take pictures of peculiar things that are in the house. When the buyers see something "different" in the house, the buyers say, "Dawn, I think you need to take a picture of this". I just like to make the process fun.
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